Elegant, vigorous ... The author dodges the pitfalls of nostalgia and sentimentality; his anecdotes crackle with immediacy ... His eye on pacing and detail, he charts the intellectual odysseys of his cast, upending our expectations ... An extraordinary achievement in narrative nonfiction.
Interesting and idiosyncratic ... This book is a formal hybrid that oscillates between a personal history and a more scholarly one ... Eccentric ... Beautiful ... Robertson has done impressive research, reflected in ample endnotes, but readers expecting a thorough treatment of Black utopianism as a historical topic will not find it in The Black Utopians ... A meaningful contribution.
This enticing mix of personal and general history of Black utopian safe spaces promises to engage readers interested in reckoning with the past and present of Black American experiences and milestones.
An ambitious and captivating group portrait of African American visionaries ... Robertson paints a vivid and beguiling picture of the indomitable human yearning for a safe and nurturing home. It’s a must-read.
